


Goblins, Roadworks, and Odd Sort-of Dates

by Zerrat



Series: Beyond Cocoonfall [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Banter, Community: fangrai-forever, F/F, FangRai February, Fluff and Smut, Mission Fic, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2013-02-13
Packaged: 2017-11-29 03:48:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/682409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerrat/pseuds/Zerrat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/153079">Worst Birthday Ever</a>. </p><p>Fang meets Lightning at the Archylte Steppe barracks at dawn to help sort out a goblin infestation. It's not the best 'first date' material, but Fang is just happy to be spending a bit of time together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goblins, Roadworks, and Odd Sort-of Dates

**Author's Note:**

> As threatened since I originally posted the prequel fic way back at the end of 2010, this here is the follow-up/direct sequel to [Worst Birthday Ever](http://archiveofourown.org/works/153079). I realise that it's been a while, so go refresh yourselves on the first one if need be!

It was only with a rather impressive effort that saw Fang make it to the Archylte Steppe shortly after dawn. Fortunately for her, her l'Cie endurance was making steady work of her lingering hangover as she walked. 

Sure, the Focus might have absolutely sucked, but the hell if the benefits of being a l'Cie weren't a sweetener.

Fang had not slept much more than a wink since Lightning finally turned up to the five hundred and twenty third birthday bash. Even though Fang was still bleary-eyed and exhausted from the night's revelries, she was just a little smug at having beaten Lightning's rather low expectations.

Of course, Lightning was already waiting out the front of the Steppe barracks when Fang arrived, and Fang had to admit that the other woman wasn't looking so crash hot, either. From Fang's quick appraisal as she'd approached, Lightning was still standing stiffly from her accident the day prior, but she looked as if she'd caught a few well-needed hours of sleep in the Steppe's barracks. 

Even better, Lightning was already cradling a styrofoam cup of some sort of hot drink in her hands.

As Fang leaned against the wall next to Lightning, she boldly reached out and plucked the cup from Lightning's loose grasp. The other woman looked more amused by the gesture than offended, and when Fang took a large mouthful of the coffee she understood _why_. It was ultra-sweet and black as dog guts, and immediately Fang wanted to spit the whole lot out and wipe her tongue off on something. She managed to maintain her composure long enough to swallow, and with a carefully neutral expression, she handed the cup back to Lightning.

"Potent," Fang said, still trying to suppress her shudder at the revolting taste and wondering if it would be as terrible for her hangover as she feared, l'Cie endurance or not. "I had no idea that you were such a sweet tooth."

"Worse than Snow, actually," Lightning agreed, sounding amused at Fang's deliberate under-reaction. "On mornings like this, I need the extra edge."

"You sure you're all right?" Fang tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes as she looked Lightning up and down again, her revulsion at Lightning's poor taste in coffee taking a back seat to her concerns for the woman's welfare. "A fall from the palisades is more than enough to justify a few days off, even for l'Cie like us."

Lightning made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh, and Fang wondered exactly what _that_ was meant to imply.

"No, it's fine. There's a bit too much going on right now for me to take a break. Besides," Lightning said with a shrug, her smile growing into a smirk. "I'll rest when I'm dead."

"Take another fall off a cliff and you might be." Fang couldn't help but give Lightning an answering smile of her own, and as Lightning finished her foul brew, Fang watched the sun rise over the Steppe, blinking as her headache began to ease. In the distance, she could see the crystal pillar stained in the colours of dawn. 

Fang didn't remember a great deal of her time in crystal, which was just as well. She much preferred being on the outside and admiring her own handy-work, than playing some mythological figure, doomed to stasis forever...

Tossing her styrofoam cup into a nearby rubbish bin, Lightning shifted easily into a more business-like persona. She produced a clipboard and some paperwork from her side bag, and handed them over for Fang to complete. 

"You'll be working with me today as an... independent contractor, and you'll be paid as such," Lightning explained, rubbing then bridge of her nose tiredly. "For protocol's sake, Amodar needs you to sign a few things before we can actually get to work."

Fang scanned the documentation, biting the inside of her cheek as she flicked through the pages of the contract. She'd needed to majorly scrub up on how Cocoon writing had changed over the centuries, just as a part of her job as a consultant, but this early in the morning? She was in no mood to swallow legalese, so she just signed her name at the bottom of the document and handed it all back to Lightning.

"I trust you wouldn't make me sign anything that involved selling souls or giving away vast fortunes," Fang explained easily when Lightning raised an eyebrow at her blithe acceptance of the terms and conditions of the contract. Lightning simply shrugged at that answer, and vanished back into the barracks to file the documents away. 

As the minutes stretched on, Fang felt her eyelids growing heavy, and they began to drift shut of their own accord. All being fair, Fang hadn't slept, and it had been a long night to top it off. 

She would have had her eyes closed for _just_ a few moments, but the next thing she knew was that she was jerking to awareness as Lightning gave her shoulder a gentle shake. 

"Am I keeping you awake?" Lightning asked mildly, and it was probably the lack of sleep talking, but Fang noticed that Lightning looked awfully pretty in the pale dawn light. She pushed the thoughts away, scrambling after some semi-coherent answer.

"Would you care, even if you were?" Fang yawned wide enough to crack her jaw.

"Try to keep your wits about you today." Lightning looked doubtful though, as if she was about to tell Fang to go home and sleep. After having gone to the effort of turning up - on time, no less - Fang wasn't going to have any of that nonsense.

"I can take a few goblin mobs blindfolded." Fang waved a hand lazily, as if trying to wave away Lightning's touching - if rather misplaced - concern. "Let's get this show on the road. The fight will wake me up, if nothing else."

They moved out from the Steppe barracks without a great deal of enthusiasm, and as they walked, Lightning muttered something unintelligible as she fiddled with something on the new high-tech gauntlet she was sporting on her left hand. After a few tries, Lightning brought up a holographic projection, and as Fang shot a sideways glance at, she realised that it was a map of the Archylte Steppe. The area that was listed as the mission start point was marked in red, and it looked to be to the far south of the Steppe's vast plains.

From the looks of things, it was going to be a bit of a walk, Fang noted with just a bit of sourness. It seemed as though Lightning had much the same thought, because she made a sudden right hand turn. She led them to a group of Guardian Corps velocycles, but Fang had other things on her mind as she spotted a group of familiar looking birds grazing not far from the Corps' compound.

_Why not?_

"Velocycles? How quaint," Fang said with a feigned disappointment, her plan cementing in her mind as she turned to Lightning.

"You'd prefer to walk, then?" Lightning looked unconvinced by Fang's complaint with taking the velocycle, and looked even less enthused by the idea of walking than Fang felt.

"How about chocobos?" Fang suggested with a wide smile. It had been ages since she'd had a chance to ride one, and she wasn't about to waste the opportunity that had been served up on a silver platter. "Just a little more romantic, wouldn't you say?"

"Riding giant birds is romantic?" Lightning frowned at her, as if expecting it to be a joke. Clearly the early mornings weren't doing her sense of humour any favours.

"I don't see why not, 'specially if we're both riding _one..."_ Fang trailed off, letting Lightning's mind fill in their own details for the moment.

Lightning was quiet for a long while, her hand still resting on top of the velocycle and her expression conflicted. Fang remembered suddenly that back in the day, Lightning never really had been _that_ big a fan of chocobos. With a sudden awkwardness, Fang wondered if she had managed to inadvertently hit a nerve. 

"Chocobo riding it is, then," Lightning said finally, sounding rather put-upon, but she straightened and strode away from the velocycle as if it had been her idea all along to ride chocobos instead. Fang jogged to catch up, a smile playing at her lips as they left the safety of the Corps' compound and moved out onto the open plains of the Steppe.

"Knew you'd come around," Fang told Lightning with a grin when she finally stopped, and then she placed her fingers to her mouth and whistled a low and melodious tune that felt like it had been ingrained in her memory since forever.

As expected - ha, Fang had _not_ lost her touch - five chocobos from the nearby flock jogged over, and Fang instinctively dug for some greens in her pockets. She came up empty handed, and with an apologetic shrug to the nearest bird, she swung her legs up and over the chocobo's wide back. Fang took a moment to settle herself, before leaning down to offer Lightning a hand.

Lightning rolled her eyes at Fang's smirk but accepted her hand anyway. She sank into place just behind Fang, her body pressed up close against Fang's back. Fang tried not to let her imagination get _too_ out of hand as she gave another low whistle, coaxing the chocobo into a gentle run. 

Maybe she _was_ grinning a little too widely as Lightning wrapped her arms around Fang's waist, but there was no rule against being happy, was there?

"Admit it," Fang said over her shoulder, and she hoped that it hadn't been carried away by the wind. "It was the idea of riding a chocobo together that won you over."

"More like the idea of you trying to race against the velocycle and breaking your idiot neck," Lightning replied against Fang's ear, warm and close, and Fang rather enjoyed the way the sensation made her stomach perform backflips.

"So you get to fall off the cliffs by Taejin's and survive, while I fall off a chocobo and die?" Fang asked, snorting to herself. "That's rather unflattering."

"You are not going to let that go, are you?" Fang felt, rather than heard, Lightning's sigh and she shrugged easily.

"All's fair, Light."

Lightning said nothing to that, and at the Steppe's grassy hills passed by, Fang thought back on the previous night's not-really-kiss. She had to admit it – she had been afraid that things would get awkward between them and ruin their friendship, and that had been a major reason that Fang had been so determined to meet up with Lightning again that morning. From the looks of things, she hadn't needed to worry after all.

Things were good, and Fang allowed herself to savour that realisation.

###

The latest area under construction on the Steppe was meant to be some sort of elevated bypass over the Vallis Media - Fang hasn't exactly been keeping up with all the _exciting_ developments as they happened. Lightning had spoken a little on the topic as they rode, probably to fill the silence, and as they arrived at the area shown on Lightning's map, Fang noted with a small amount of sourness that the Cocoon workers were ruining the wild charm of the place. The area to the south of the Steppe had been dug up, and there was nothing but mud and orange clay as far as the eye could see.

Lightning's dismount was a little unsteady as Fang guided the chocobo to a stop, and Fang watched her move quickly to speak with a group of construction workers standing near some heavy machinery. Fang hesitated in dismounting for the moment, still missing the close warmth at her back. 

As Lightning moved off with one of the workers, Fang finally sighed and slid off the bird's back, and she gave its neck a soft pat before letting it run off. She watched it vanish into the distance, noting that she'd earned herself a few blatant stares. Fang was hardly trying to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help but hear them muttering about _l'Cie, Pulsians_ and the like, but she rolled her shoulders and shoved the noise to the back of her mind.

Lightning quickly returned with a broad fellow that Fang assumed was the project manager for this area of development, and they were already talking business as they came into earshot.

"-it was around a week or so after we got started that trouble started cropping up. At first there were bangs in the night, monsters prowling too close to the shelters than the guys here were comfortable with."

"But it got worse," Lightning prompted him, and the project manager shot her a look before getting on with the point of his story.

"Soon we had goblins running off with construction materials, damaging the machinery and outright attacking the workers." He cleared his throat loudly. "I don't know how the army classed it, but this is bad for morale and has resulted in delays. Took you long enough to get here, too. Where are the rest of you?"

Lightning was silent, but Fang watched the tell-tale flicker of annoyance cross her face and idly wondered how often she got asked that one. Fang had known that the Corps was stretched thin, but...

"So it's just you and her?" From the way the project manager's eyebrows had arched, he was none too happy with that idea and intended to make it explicitly known. Lightning had crossed her arms, perhaps intending to stare the guy down. As tired as Lightning looked, Fang supposed that it was a miracle that Lightning had been that patient.

"Just us, yeah. We're all that's needed to take care of the problem and get the operation running all smooth-like. Isn't that better than trying to work around dozens of blockheads?" Fang smiled in that disarming sort of way that Vanille had nagged her into perfecting, and was rewarded when the guy snorted and left without a further word.

At her side, Lightning visibly relaxed and exhaled sharply, before her eyes cut toward Fang for a moment.

"Let's go," she said simply, and Fang didn't have to fake her next smile as they headed out to where the goblins were last spotted raising some hell with the machinery. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Fang drawing her lance from the straps on her back and Lightning messing around with the firing mechanism on her blazefire saber.

Now that they were there and had checked in, all they had to do was play the waiting game.

###

It was mid-morning by the time the goblins finally showed up. While Fang appreciated the chance to slow down and chat with Lightning for a while, the warm sun and creeping boredom was playing havoc with her ability to keep her eyes open, so when the first crash in the distance sounded, she all but jumped to follow.

Lightning, however, held out an arm to stay Fang's eager steps.

"Keep your head on, Fang," Lightning told her, just a hint of a smile on her lips. Clearly she was going to enjoy the chance to move as much as Fang was. "I'm not gonna jump in and save your ass when you in get over your head!"

Fang pushed her way past as Lightning's arm relaxed, swinging her lance around in a flashy twirl before holding it at the ready. She looked over her shoulder, to where Lightning had drawn her own weapon, unable to stop the smirk at the corner of her lips.

"Oh, that's a shame, because I have such a nice arse, too." Fang winked gamely over her shoulder, before wincing as she heard a window smash somewhere behind her. Lightning flushed just a little before clearing her throat and nodding to where the mob of goblins were busy trashing some of the heavy machines the project manager was so precious about. Fang sighed - they'd better get to it and take the bastards out, not that she personally cared for the project manager's peace of mind.

It felt _good_ as Fang impacted with the first of the goblins, lashing out in a wide strike in the centre of the lot of them. That smirk on her lips became a full-blown feral grin as she swept her lance out again, upward in a flawless half-moon strike. The goblin unlucky enough to get in her way was launched skyward, going up several paces before crashing to the ground. 

Fang didn't stop to see if the thing was dead and she was already barrelling for the next goblin, pivoting sharply as aero, thunder, and blizzard hit her target in a rapid succession and adding in her own sweeping strike to take out the poor sucker. Lightning moved into position beside her, a flashing blur of movement at Fang's back.

"Doesn't this just take you back to Palumpolum?" Lightning asked, as she easily evaded a goblin's retaliating strike before cutting it down in the same smooth motion. 

Fang felt herself laugh, and she whirled her lance and launched another goblin who thought it could get too close.

"Not nearly enough danger!" Fang shouted over the next burst of magic from Lightning's fingertips, but Lightning had a point. 

It felt _nice_ to be fighting back to back with Lightning again - it felt nice to be fighting at _all,_ what with the overload of work she gained as a consultant recently. It was like stretching out after what felt like a long sleep, and now she really couldn't help getting caught up in the battle in all of its simple glory.

She _might_ have started putting on a bit of a show, now that she knew she had Lightning's attention, and threw together complicated and advanced techniques with useless flourishes of her weapon. The fight still went far too quickly as the remaining few goblins bailed, running off into the narrow gorge of the Vallis Media. 

With a wave of her hand to say that Lightning had better follow along, Fang sprinted after them. Her senses narrowed in on the three remaining goblins as they tore through the narrow cliffs, she _almost_ had them -

Afterward, Fang would jokingly claim that the only thing that saved her arse was her keen hunter's sense. As it was, she was stunned - _stunned_ \- that she was able to raise her lance in time to fleetingly block the Behemoth's swing and dodge the follow up from his friend.

 _Friend?_ Fang asked herself as she jumped back, blinking rapidly. _Behemoths, fighting in pairs?_

"You're both a little burly for the usual garden variety of behemoth," Fang told them, not willing to chance a look over her shoulder to see if she was going to get any backup from Lightning. Those two behemoths were advancing on her, already standing on their hind legs and raring for a fight. "What are they feeding you out here? Steroids?"

"Possibly crystal off-cuts from the factories," Lightning said from just behind her, and Fang had never been so glad to hear that cool, clipped voice.

One of the behemoths roared, and the ground seemed to shake beneath Fang's feet, and the other swung its razor sharp club against the cliff's wall, causing a couple of not-so-small boulders to come loose and crash to the ground. Well, Fang supposed she'd needed a proper challenge to work out the rust...

"What's the plan?" Fang asked in a low voice, a smile creeping at the corners of her mouth as they began to edge toward the beasts. "The Snow Special?"

"Just hitting them 'til they fall over?" Lightning scoffed, a volley of magic streaming out from her fingertips as she advanced. "If reliving the glory days means that much to you..."

"'Glory days'? Was I the one openly reminiscing before?" Fang replied, and she darted forward under the cover of Lightning's rapid-fire magic and engaged the nearest behemoth, leaving the other one to Lightning's tender care. She still kept an eye on Lightning's fight, though, and she was confident that Lightning was doing the same of her. 

Fang's talent in battle had never tended toward the quick movements and dodges she so admired about Lightning's technique. What Fang lacked in speed she made up for in strength, and when all of her strikes and blocks could be followed up with a seeping poison, a spell to daze, or something that softened the leathery hide to further strikes, she wasn't a warrior to be underestimated. 

As the behemoth fell to a knee, the poison running thick through its veins and taking hold, Fang ended its suffering with a swift cut to the jugular. As the behemoth slumped and went still, Fang pushed her sweaty hair out of her eyes and turned to where Lightning was still loudly dealing with her own overly-aggressive behemoth. 

While Fang's style was short and brutal in its efficiency, as she fought she watched Lightning out the corner of her eye. Lightning's method, as she wove in and out of the huge blades whizzing by her and the bodily lunges from the behemoth, was that it was like a symphony of magic, movement and flashing steel. Every movement was carefully controlled and used to its maximum potential as she ducked under a particularly nasty-looking haymaker with only a hand-span to spare before boldly blasting the beast in the face with a string of magic.

As she jogged over to assist, Fang idly wondered who it was that had taught Lightning to fight like that, because the fighting style wasn't particularly useful for blocking. Even if Lightning kept sliding out from under the behemoth's wild lunges like water over stones, Fang was still doing most of the blocking work to create all the openings Lightning needed. As confident as Fang was that Lightning could handle herself, she wasn't exactly fond of some of those close calls.

Lightning seemed to see some sort of opening off to the behemoth's left side and sprinted off to the side, Fang took the next overhead strike on the haft of her lance when her sluggish reflexes told her to dodge a little too late. Her entire body jarred as the blow was caught off-centre and her weapon was ripped from her grasp. Fang watched it go spinning through the air, sound dulled and the behemoth retaliating strike seemed to move slowly, as if it was all happening underwater somehow.

The behemoth's kick sent her flying as the speed and sound siphoned from the world seemed to flood back in a rush. Fang saw the rough stone wall of the Vallis Media's cliffs flash toward her before there was nothing.

###

Fang's eyes cracked open to the cool feel of healing magic washing over her body, and she squinted against the painful, sudden brightness of the world. Warm, calloused fingers were curled under Fang's chin, holding her still as the whole world seemed to continue to float. 

Fang blinked again, a dull roar sounding in her ears, and suddenly she noticed Lightning crouched in front of her.

"-Fang, c'mon, focus on my fingers, I know you can do that for me." Lightning's voice held a note of desperation as she moved her fingers back and forth in front of Fang's eyes, and as sound abruptly returned to her, Fang jerked and gasped. The side of her head felt wet, and as she raised a shaking hand to her hair, her fingertips came away bloody. 

"Light?" Fang asked softly, and she watched Lightning rock back on her heels, still looking pale. Her expression had gone from worried to relieved though, so Fang supposed that was something. She winced as she tried to move, shock waves of pain coming from the bloody side of her head. "What - what happened?"

"The behemoth threw you head-first into the wall," Lightning said, her fingertips glowing with brilliant blue light as she added another cure spell to the rest. "You're lucky it didn't end worse." 

Fang swallowed, trying to process that. "I suppose I was always a favourite of Lady Luck," she tried, and was relieved when Lightning's expression became a little exasperated. Good - irritation was far better than all that worry...

"I've patched you up as best as I could," Lightning told her, looking thoughtful as she looked over her shoulder and down the gorge's narrow pathway. "Can you get back to the Steppe base?"

Frankly that sounded like a monstrous task with the way her head was hurting, but Fang swallowed her immediate refusal. She was a Gran Pulsian l'Cie, and a hunter to boot. She would damn well cope.

"I think so," Fang said with a weary laugh. "Might need a bit of a hand this time, considering."

"Right." From the sound of it, Lightning didn't seem to see the funny side of it, and her expression only grew more worried again. Fang did her best to assist Lightning as the other woman helped her to her feet, slinging one arm around Lightning's shoulders and the other wrapped around her waist to keep her steady. 

The once short walk back to the project's hub became torturously long, and no matter how much Fang enjoyed the close proximity of Lightning, she was wishing the trek was over long before the portable offices came into view. The walk did eventually end, and that was when Fang remembered that they had come to the site on chocobo back.

The chocobo that Fang had called was long gone. She could have kicked herself - sometimes, she had some truly stupid ideas. 

Lightning hadn't hesitated as they made their way toward the project manager's office, so presumably Lightning had been thinking on it during the walk back. The project manager burst out of his office as they approached, his face drawn into a frown as he looked them up and down. 

"Mission is accomplished," Lightning told him tersely, adjusting her hold around Fang's waist as they came to a stop. "We also took out some much bigger ones that were making their way up from the Vallis. They would have been an issue if they'd gotten here. My partner got hurt taking them out, so I'll need to requisition a vehicle for the trip back."

To Fang's bleary eyes, the guy looked rebellious a moment, and from the tense feeling of Lightning's body against her own, Fang wondered if Lightning was going to draw her weapon on the bloke if he had the balls to say 'no'. Fang had no sympathy for him, and as the seconds ticked on and Lightning's expression grew darker, the project manager sighed and fished around in his pocket for a pair of keys.

"Make sure to bring it back in one piece," the project manager said, a little irritably, as he tossed the keys over to Lightning. 

Lightning caught the keys with the hand that had been around Fang's waist, nodding to him. 

"I'll ensure that you get the appropriate compensation for your trouble," she told him evenly, and Fang felt her body relax a little. To Fang, she said, "C'mon, we need to get you back to a doctor that knows what they are doing."

"Sounds like a brilliant plan," Fang groaned out as they began to walk for the row of vehicles parked nearby.

###

After they'd made their way back into the Steppe Corps compound, Lightning had left her with one of the Corps doctors. Lightning had apologised repeatedly before she left Fang in the doctor's clutches, saying something about needing to speak with her superiors about the suped-up behemoths they'd encountered in the Vallis. 

Sure, it had made sense at the time, but when Fang ended up spending the next hour being jabbed and poked at with fingers and pointy objects, she wished that Lightning had at least stuck around for some moral support. Fang had eventually drawn the line at having a round of artificial cures injected straight into her veins, as she'd remembered Lightning mention how ill she'd been afterwards.

At the end of the ordeal, Fang was sent away with a light bandage around her head and strict orders to watch the mostly-sealed wound for infection. Fang supposed that her lack of concussion was mostly due to the l'Cie magic still running strongly through her. 

It was a relief - with a bit of luck, Vanille wouldn't find out about her close-and-personal talk with a cliff wall.

###

If questioned, Fang would refuse to admit that she'd spent an hour or two simply dozing in the sun in a quiet corner outside, even if she'd needed them badly. However, since arriving back at the base, Fang had seen neither hide nor hair of Lightning, and it was with that in mind that she set out to find where the elusive woman had squirrelled herself. 

Fang still wasn't sure what it was that Lightning did for the Corps - all she knew was that Lightning's presence was in high demand for all the most dangerous missions, likely due to her l'Cie enhancements. Fang couldn't blame the army for wanting to take advantage of Lightning's unique abilities, even if it offended Fang's own sensibilities. If Lightning kept saying 'okay' to those missions, she was a grown woman and could make her own choices on the topic. 

The hell if Fang didn't think Lightning needed a well-deserved break, though.

Fang spent nearly an hour wandering through the Corps base, and she'd begun to wonder if Lightning didn't _want_ to be found when the woman slipped out of one of the meeting rooms, looking tense enough to deck the next person who gave her a sidelong glance. 

"Light!" Fang called out as Lightning started off in the opposite direction, waving her hand to catch the woman's attention. "Over here!"

Lightning looked over her shoulder at the shout, frowning for a moment. Fortunately, she stopped and waited for Fang to jog to catch up, before resuming her walk for the building's exit. She didn't say a word in greeting, boding well for her mood. 

"Long afternoon?" Fang asked quietly, as they emerged into the afternoon sunlight beyond. 

Lightning shot her a look that was infinitely weary, but she still managed to give Fang a small smile. "You have no idea." 

Fang snorted softly at that, letting Lightning know exactly how she felt about hearing that. "They've let you off the hook for the day, then?" 

"Thank Eden." Lightning laughed a little, and she shrugged as they approached the row of Corps vehicles lined up inside the compound's perimeter. "I think I might end up strangling the next puffed-up entrepreneur and their gaggle of lawyers that I next come across."

"Good riddance." 

"You're telling me." Lightning stopped by one of the velocycles, and she vaulted inside. She jerked her head for Fang to climb in behind her. "I'll drop you back at Oerba."

Fang slid onto the seat behind her, frowning a little as she placed her hands on Lightning's hips. Was that how their day was going to end? With Lightning just dropping her back at Oerba, like the kiss the night before never happened? She understood, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed by it. What exactly were all of Lightning's meetings about? How bad _was_ the situation that they'd stumbled across with the behemoths?

Whatever it was, it was doing a fine job of ruining their odd sort of date, Fang thought with just a little bitterness.

###

They arrived back in Oerba as evening was falling, what with the days getting shorter as winter approached. The renewed town was sleepy and quiet following the ruckus from Fang's birthday bash, and as she and Lightning zoomed through the newly-paved streets and up the repaired staircases, Fang was glad that she was awake to see her home town get a well-deserved lease of life. 

Lightning stopped the velocycle out front of the house that Fang shared with Vanille, killing the engine sharply and sliding over the side and down to the ground. Fang accepted the helping hand that Lightning offered to her, letting herself enjoy the way Lightning's breath caught when Fang leaned into her to regain her balance.

 _Enjoy it while it lasts,_ Fang told herself, reluctantly pulling back from Lightning's warmth, but her mind still felt lulled by the way the woman's unique scent clung to her senses. 

Lightning watched her for a moment, blue eyes steady and seeming to dart up and down Fang's body, before she smiled and placed a hand on her hip. 

"I suppose it can't hurt to walk you to your door," Lightning said softly, and Fang felt a surge of heat and affection as they walked up the path to the house, side by side. 

Fang hesitated as they reached the door, her hand resting against the polished, wooden doorframe for a moment as she looked over her shoulder and back at Lightning. However strange a date that the day had been, Fang didn't want it to end just yet. 

"What are the plans for tomorrow?" Fang asked lightly, finally crossing her arms against her chest and leaning back on the doorframe. 

"Work, as usual. Now that the goblins on the Steppe have been taken care of - for now - I'll need to head back to headquarters and speak with Amodar." Lightning's expression grew grim, and she looked over beyond the shadow of Taejin's Tower on the horizon. "Those behemoths... They mean something, and I don't like it."

Fang was a little disappointed to hear that Lightning was still working so damn hard. From what Fang could best tell, it had been a gruelling few days for Lightning, and that was only the information that Fang was privy to. Whatever it was that the Corps had Lightning doing, it sucked. 

Wanting to make Lightning's day a little better, Fang quickly leaned forward, capturing Lightning's lips in a heated but sweet kiss. She let it linger as she felt Lightning's breath become a little ragged, and pulled back slowly to look Lightning in the eyes. In the space of half a breath, Lightning looked at her and smirked, something deep and hungry lighting up in her blue eyes as her hands flashed forward and pulled Fang in again by the collar of her jacket. 

Lightning's own kiss was hotter and harder than Fang's had been, as if the woman had dreamed of nothing else for her whole damn life and was now being offered it for the one time only. Fang allowed herself to be pulled down and pushed back, her entire body flashing hot as Lightning's mouth slanted and moved against her own. She was only dimly aware of the door impacting with her back, but Etro Fang was glad it was there because with the way her head was spinning, she wasn't sure she could stand on her own power. 

Fang felt Lightning's teeth graze her lower lip, and Fang couldn't stop the low groan from slipping free as she pulled back a little. She tilted her head back, letting Lightning's lips and quick tongue move to her jaw and throat, her own fingers pushing feverishly under Lightning's white jacket and across the hot, smooth skin of her stomach and hips. 

"Etro, Lightning," Fang breathed as she tugged Lightning flush up against her, needing to feel everything with a fierceness that surprised even herself. "Where did you learn to kiss like that?"

"You have your secrets, I have mine," Lightning said, and she laughed into the crook of Fang's neck, her breath hot and heavy on the sensitive skin of Fang's collarbone. 

"Come in with me," Fang mumbled against her ear, loving the way the low words made Lightning twitch against her. She gently and lazily dragged her fingers through the hair at the back of Lightning's head, enjoying the way the soft curls clung to her fingers before falling. "Save yourself the trip."

"Eden, it's tempting," Lightning pressed another open-mouthed kiss against the corner of Fang's jaw, her tongue tracing wet patterns on Fang's skin that chilled in the cool night air when she pulled away slightly. "Kiss me again and I will."

Fang was never one to turn down a challenge, and certainly not one she liked. She claimed Lightning's mouth hungrily, tasting the woman's lips and deciding immediately that she needed more. Fang felt a thrill run through her when she heard that low gasp, right as her hand fisted in Lightning's longer curls, and she took that moment to run her tongue along the full curve of Lightning's bottom lip. 

Unwilling to break contact even for a moment, Fang used her free hand to blindly fumble behind her for the doorknob, failing miserably as Lightning's thigh pressed between her legs _just so_ -

Lightning finally released the collar of Fang's new jacket, her hand slipping down and smoothing over Fang's own to turn the doorknob gently. Fang leaned forward impulsively, quickly transferring her full weight from the door and toward Lightning as it creaked open. 

"We doing this?" Both of Fang's hands pressed up hard against the small of Lightning's back, and she was delighted by the way Lightning murmured and arched into her body into Fang's own in response. 

"We are," Lightning murmured, and the tiny knot of pleasure and desire that had been forming in Fang's stomach seemed to triple in size at the quiet confirmation that it was _on._ She pulled Lightning into pitch blackness of the house by the collar of her white and tan jacket, searing their lips together in short, heated kisses as she silently prayed to Lady Luck that Vanille had decided to call it a night early. 

Fang pulled back for a moment, her breath ragged as she stopped to listen for any sign of her sister, even if it was incredibly difficult to focus when Lightning was doing that thing with her tongue on the side of Fang's neck. After she was reasonably satisfied that the house was silent – all except for herself and Lightning – she relaxed. Fang pivoted sharply, her hands still in clenched in Lightning's jacket as she reversed their positions and shoved Lightning against the nearest wall. 

She heard Lightning make a small sound in the back of her throat, loud in the dead quiet of the house and seeming to ignite every single one of Fang's nerve endings, and she pressed herself up hard against the woman immediately. Fang pressed her lips against Lightning's throat as her fingers slipped under the flaps of Lightning's jacket, feeling smooth, hot skin over hard muscle as she gave herself permission to roam every curve and angle she could find. 

Lightning dispensed of Fang's own jacket with an efficiency that seemed both brutal and heated, tossing it somewhere off to the side as she slid her hands over the form-fitting black tshirt Fang had been wearing underneath it. 

Fang inhaled sharply as Lightning's hands slid down and over the curve of her arse, a tiny sound escaping her lips as she allowed herself to be pulled up hard against Lightning's body. She felt Lightning's knee and thigh ease between her legs, felt her hips rock up hard against Lightning's own, and she both loved and loathed the seam of her jeans at that moment -

Was she really making those needy, desperate noises? Etro, it had been far too long since Fang had been with anyone, not since the War. The fact that it was Lightning with her was still hard to fathom properly, even if she could feel Lightning's teeth on her earlobe and hot, shaky breath against her neck. 

Fang reached out and grabbed Lightning's gloved hand in her own, tugging the other woman along behind her as tried to pick her way through the darkened house without tripping over stray furniture. While Fang was confident of her ability to navigate, it was still a relief when they finally made it into Fang's room. 

Reluctantly disentangling herself from Lightning's arms, Fang moved over to switch on the light at her bedside. As she turned back around to smirk at Lightning, Fang felt a jolt of shock as the woman was already there, pushed up against her, nuzzling in and running clinging kisses down the length of Fang's jaw and throat. 

Fang dragged Lightning down onto the bed with her, moulding their bodies together as she seized Lightning's mouth in a fierce kiss. She fumbled at the belt around Lightning's waist for a moment, cinching it loose before moving to the brown sweater's zipper. Lightning had managed to undo Fang's jeans at some unknown point, and Fang felt herself smirk. Their kiss broke only long enough for Fang to allow Lightning to lift her hips up and pull the jeans and underwear down, and as Lightning turned to toss the item of clothing off to the side, Fang shot forward and wrapped her arms around Lightning's smooth, soft waist. 

Leaning her chin over the crook of Lightning's neck, Fang tugged gloves and high-tech gauntlet from Lightning's hands, and they were followed to the floor by the rest of the soldier's modified uniform. Fang lazily cupped one breast, pressing herself into Lightning's back as the woman arched against her. There was a mottling of red, purple and yellow on her ribs still, silent testament to her fall from the palisades yesterday. 

"So," Fang murmured against Lightning's ear, running gentle fingers over the worst of the bruises and wondering if she'd been too rough before. "How do you want to do this?" 

Lightning scoffed and turned, capturing Fang's lips hard and pressing her backwards, down into the mattress again. Fang lazily moved a thigh between Lightning's legs as she crawled over to rest against Fang's still-clothed chest. Apparently, Lightning thought she had the situation under her complete control - well, Fang was not about to have that. After having had her affections toyed with for _months_ prior to her birthday party, she was not about to let Lightning get the upper hand during their first time together. 

Fang pressed her thigh upward, closing her eyes and enjoying the way Lightning made a strangled sound in the back of her throat at the touch and the slick feel of her centre pressed hard against Fang's flesh. 

Oh Etro, she needed to hear more of _that_ sound, now that she finally had Lightning exactly where she wanted.

"You like that, Light?" Fang asked, knotting her fingers in the longer curls at the back of Lightning's head and taking full advantage of the woman's difficulty focusing. She slanted their mouths together, hard, and as her fingers eased down between their bodies and pressed into Lightning's slick folds, she felt Lightning shudder. 

"Fang, you-" Lightning cut off, her breathing ragged, and Fang claimed her lips again. 

Fang ran her tongue along Lightning's lower lip as she rubbed, gentle but firm, capturing the resulting gasps and moans in her mouth. Lightning's back arched up as Fang shifted and slipped two fingers inside, and she couldn't help but watch as Lightning's cheeks flushed and her eyes grew a little unfocused as Fang explored the wet, tight heat for a moment. Satisfied that most of Lightning's fight had left her, Fang allowed her grip on Lightning's hair to loosen. 

Beginning to slowly pump her fingers in a steady, powerful rhythm, Fang continued to rub circles around Lightning's clit with her thumb. She heard Lightning choke back some sort of low, primal sound, and she felt her lips twitch in a smile as Lightning buried her face in Fang's neck, her fingers digging hard into Fang's shoulders. 

She pressed a kiss against Lightning's ear, savouring the way every iron muscle was _trembling_ against her as Fang took Lightning apart with her hand. All too soon, she felt Lightning grow tight and rigid around her fingers, hovering on the edge of climax. Lightning rucked down hard against Fang's hand, crying out something breathy and wordless as her whole body rocked. Fang held her, running her clean hand through Lightning's soft hair as she waited for the woman's breath to stabilise again. She couldn't help but smile, feeling inordinately pleased with herself about the whole thing as Lightning looked up, her warm blue eyes meeting Fang's own. 

_Score,_ Fang thought, her grin growing, but the expression seemed to ignite the sharpness in Lightning's eyes again. There was a blur of motion, and Lightning grabbed both of Fang's wrists, pinning them above her head and straddling her hips in one fluid movement. Fang cast an eye up and down her assailant, liking the way the slight sheen of sweat made her skin look even smoother. Lightning's lips were just a finger span from her own, and the expression in her blue eyes was hungry, almost predatory. 

"You got me," Fang purred, attempting to rise up to close the distance between their lips, but Lightning pulled back just enough for Fang to touch nothing but air. "Ignoring the fact that I could break your grip with a twitch, what _ever_ will you do with me?"

"Do exactly what I originally planned to do," Lightning scoffed, freeing one of her own hands and using it to insistently push the fabric of Fang's tshirt up her body. "Prove you aren't as in charge as you think you are."

Lightning bit gently into the muscle between Fang's neck and shoulder, her tongue gliding across Fang's skin in a way that made her want to whimper and beg for more.

That hand working its way under her tshirt passed over an intensely sensitive spot on Fang's ribs, pausing for a moment as if to toy with Fang's sudden reaction, before continuing upward. As Lightning pushed her hand under Fang's bra to brush over the swell of her breast, fingertip circling Fang's nipple in a rhythm that was going to drive her _mad._ Fang felt heat begin to gather between her legs, sharp and sweet. 

Fang let herself relax under Lightning's fingers and mouth, rocking her hips upward in a way that made Lightning's breath become ragged again. With a soft laugh and a shake of her head, Lightning pulled her hand from under Fang's shirt, seizing Fang's wrists in both hands again and tugging them down to her sides. Fang felt Lightning's lips graze down her chest, her shifting herself lower - 

_Oh._

Fang parted her legs, just wide enough to accommodate Lightning's shoulders, obediently letting Lightning press her wrists into the sheets as the woman moved slowly down her body. She wanted to thread her fingers through that tousled head of strawberry-blonde hair, but if this was the way Lightning wanted to play it... Fang really had no issue with that. 

The first contact of Lightning's lips and tongue against her inner thigh had her twitching, and the first prickle of sweat washed over her skin as her heart began to race. Lightning's lips and tongue were close as they worked their way slowly up, and Fang let out a deep growl of frustration as Lightning continued to string her along. 

"Light," Fang ground out, arching her hips up in a vain attempt to hurry the woman along. "While we're both still _young."_

"But I thought you were five hundred and twenty-three," Lightning laughed, and Fang shivered as her breath tickled. She seemed to take mercy on Fang though, kissing a quick and rapid line up -

Fang exhaled sharply at the first touch of Lightning's tongue against her, unable to control her reaction to the jolt that ran through her body after goddess only knew how long abstaining. Fang let her breath hiss back in through her teeth as she felt Lightning's grip on her wrists tighten warningly, bidding Fang to stay still while those _damn_ tongue and lips worked over her. 

She allowed her eyes drift shut as her entire body relaxed into Lightning's touch again. She could do this, Fang kept telling herself, she could – she bit off an unsteady, needy sound as she felt Lightning's tongue dip in and move in some indescribably delicious way. Lightning must have liked that sound, Fang realised a little desperately as she felt sweat begin to prickle over her skin, because she _kept doing it_ -

Fang felt her back arch up from the sheets, swallowing as prickling heat began to rise through her at a disturbing pace. Lightning released her wrists then, taking Fang's hips in a grip that almost bruised as she tried to hold Fang steady. Fang buried her hands in Lightning's hair, fingernails scraping against Lightning's scalp as the woman's lips circled her clit and sucked in just the right way.

Fang couldn't stifle her moan that time, and giving it up for a lost cause, she let her head tip back as she lost herself in the heat and sensation. She felt her body tighten and tremble as the pleasure became almost _sharp_ , until finally – Etro, _finally_ \- she came, hard enough that her whole body quaked and she swore she saw stars behind her eyelids. 

Her body completely slack, and unable to summon the strength to right herself from the untidy sprawl she'd fallen in, Fang felt her heartbeat begin to slow and her breathing begin to stabilise. Reluctantly, she peeled an eye open as the bed jostled and Lightning moved from her spot between Fang's legs. As Lightning drew level, Fang planted a lopsided kiss right under Lightning's ear, still feeling entirely too pleased about the whole day.

Lightning looked as knackered as Fang felt herself, and as Fang reached out to push the slightly sweaty bangs out of Lightning's face, she grinned. She might as well show she could be merciful. 

"Don't know about you," Fang said, glad that her voice seemed to have mostly returned to normal. "But I haven’t slept in what really feels like forever, and Etro I need a bit of shut-eye. What say we continue this later?"

"So long as it goes on the record that it was Oerba Yun Fang's idea," Lightning replied, though her tone was warm and teasing. "It would be… appreciated. It's been a long few days."

"C'mere." Fang wrapped an arm around Lightning's shoulders, pulling Lightning in against her chest as she reached for the covers. For a few minutes, Fang simply lay there, enjoying Lightning's comforting weight and heat on her shoulder and body. "Today was good, you think?"

When she received no response, Fang looked down with a small frown. Lightning's breath had evened out, her eyes closed and her expression was peaceful. Fang brushed a lazy thumb over Lightning's cheekbone, smiling to herself as she used her other hand to pull the blankets over them properly. She let her own eyes finally drift shut, a huge sense of weariness finally claiming her. 

Sure, that day's 'date' had been a weird one, but when it came to Lightning, Fang knew she wouldn't have had it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like updates as to current projects or just want to chat, feel free to come visit me on my tumblr: [zerrat](http://zerrat.tumblr.com/) (personal) and [zerratwritesstuff](http://zerratwritesstuff.tumblr.com) (writing)!


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